The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested three men from the Chinese mainland for engaging in illegal loansharking and collecting HK$39,000 in “interest” from a gambler without providing their promised share of the gambling capital, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Cheong Siu Keong said during a regular press conference yesterday.
Cheong identified the suspects as a 40-year-old man surnamed Wei, a 38-year-old man surnamed Li, and a 42-year-old man surnamed Fang. All three claimed that they were unemployed.
According to Cheong, the case came to light after casino security personnel reported an argument between the suspects and a mainland male gambler at a casino in Cotai.
The investigation found that the gambler had met two of the suspects at the casino in the early hours of Tuesday. They allegedly agreed that each party would contribute HK$150,000 as gambling capital for baccarat, with the suspects taking 20 percent of the gambler’s winnings on each winning round as “interest”.
However, the gambler initially used his own HK$150,000 to place bets, while the suspects failed to provide their promised contribution. Li was responsible for managing the chips and collecting the “interest” before passing the chips to Wei and Fang, according to Cheong.
The dispute arose when the gambler was unable to obtain the HK$150,000 that the suspects had agreed to contribute. The ensuing argument alerted casino security, which reported the incident to the police.
The Judiciary Police investigation found that the gambler had paid a total of HK$39,000 in “interest”, and officers seized HK$9,000 in gaming chips and three mobile phones from the suspects.
The trio face usury charges. They have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) for follow-up investigation.
This undated handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday shows the chips and smartphones seized from the casino loansharking trio.
